A group of NYU Law professors traveled to Berlin recently to take part in “Constitutionalism in a New Key?,” a conference organized by Mattias Kumm. Hosted by the Social Science Research Center (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung), the event gathered experts from around the world to discuss the basics of constitutional theory in a contemporary context.

On January 28th, Kumm chaired a panel titled “Rethinking the Foundations of Constitutional Authority: Constituant Power, Self-Government, Rights Based Public Reason,” in which the panelists explored whether the idea of “We the People” stands as a constituent power that grounds the constitution’s claim to supreme authority. On January 29th, a panel titled “State Boundaries as a Normative Problem” featured Lloyd C. Nelson Professor of International Law Robert Howse, who presented a paper, co-written with Ruti Teitel of New York Law School and the London School of Economics, on self-determination and secession analyzing Quebec and Kosovo, and University Professor Jeremy Waldron, whose presentation touched on the formation of political communities. Later that day, Kumm and Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law Ronald Dworkin joined the panel “Beyond State Consent: Rethinking the Foundations of International Law.”